Tag Archives: Kitchen

A New Tray

8 Sep

The mood for online shopping struck a few weeks ago. And I purchased a silicon baking tray, not for me obviously but for hubby. He has been baking a lot during the MCO, so we thought it’d be fun to vary the bread shapes and sizes.

Now, this is our first silicon tray for baking, and it took hubby a couple of bakes to get it right as far as the temperature and timing control are concerned. On the first attempt, I was left in charged to watch the loaves in the oven because he had to leave for the office.

Obviously I cannot bake! 😅

And the mini loaves, under my watch, came out a little burnt! Oops. I had followed the temperature and timing accordingly though…

Second attempt using a wheat bread recipe

So hubby had to make some adjustments. On his second and third attempts, using a wheat bread recipe, the loaves turned out okay. And by the fourth attempt, the mini loaves turned out lovely. All these attempts, I wasn’t roped in to help, thank goodness.

A tad too little (dough) that resulted in skinny minis?

We love the new tray and the breads.

Lovely mini loaves by the fourth attempt

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Happy Ants

7 Aug

It is often said whatever that has been planted and cared for without using pesticides will be evident in the harvest; there will be worms enjoying the fruits of the labor.

This round, mostly green ones

Our scotch bonnet pepper plants have been very healthy and we have had non-stop supplies. And sometimes worms included. On and off, I’d find tiny worms in the container holding the basket of peppers. And I’d just wash the icky worms down the sink.

Bumper supply of worms too! Five altogether

One morning, I saw a worm on the kitchen counter top instead! Eeek… it had somehow escaped from the container. Before I could do anything, the ants got to it first! They were quickly maneuvering the worm to their nest for the rest of the colony as food. I didn’t have the heart to thwart them. It would be too vicious.

One, two, three… heave! One, two, three… go!

So I simply took a picture of the action but missed the rest of their journey to their lair when I turned away. Dang! They sure are fast but they sure are happy ants with the unexpected bounty.

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I Wanted Cookies

3 Aug

Last week, hubby and I were at our neighborhood grocery store to replenish our food when I suddenly felt I wanted cookies. We were standing in the baking aisle because hubby was looking at a new flour product. And the Betty Crocker cookie mix was staring at me.

I asked hubby if I should pick it up since Betty was calling out to me. I reasoned that he’s never baked cookies so far, and he was aghast that I considered Betty over him. I was vetoed on the purchase with him promising to bake a batch for me.

We then discovered why he’s never attempted to bake cookies all this while – the amount of sugar and butter needed was simply eye-popping! Subconsciously, we knew cookies require these two ingredients a fair bit, but never realized to what extend. Now we know.

The making of the giants. Too making to stack up

Although the 27 three and a half to four-inch cookies were very good, I think this will be the first and last time that we’re getting home-baked giant chocolate chip cookies.

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Pesky Intruders Again

24 Jul

Last weekend when we were away, we had some pesky four-legged intruders. They were making themselves at home in the wet kitchen area. How did we know? Put it this way, they left evidence here and there: droppings or should I say, poop. Ugh.

So we had to trap them, otherwise, they’d get too daring and cause a lot of problems. On the first night, however, an unlikely intruder was nabbed! A squirrel. Eeesh… Not the culprit we were hoping for, and hubby lets it go.

Then for two nights in a row, the trap that was set up was successful in trapping a young rat each night. Let’s hope this puts an end to unwanted pesky intruders.

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A Timely Purchase, Part 2

4 May

I have to admit… the stand mixer was an excellent purchase as hubby has been using it. I have yet to use it though because I don’t really bake from scratch, only from pre-mixes in a box that don’t need a mixer. Heheheh…

The banana loaves and snickerdoodle apple bread
There were two batches of butter cookies

So far he’s baked three loaves of banana bread, butter cookies and a Snickerdoodle apple bread (this was oh-so-good!). There have been attempts too that did not require the stand mixer but just good old kneading and patience for the dough to rise.

All in all, the baking days have kept him busy for there have been many rainy days and he couldn’t go out to the garden. For M2 and me, it was many varieties to savor and I have been upping my exercise routine to counter all the intake.

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A Timely Purchase

28 Apr

It was supposed to end today, the third phase of our Movement Control Order (MCO) but no… the government has decided to extend it again. Another two weeks from tomorrow until 12 May for Phase Four.

Well, we have gotten so used to staying home, being in partial lockdown for six weeks already, what’s another two weeks, right? We’ll just continue with our home routine. No problem.

The home routine revolves around food – what to cook, what to bake, when to cook, when to eat because these activities are the highlight of each day while house chores are definitely not. We can skip sweeping or mopping the floors but we certainly can’t skip a meal.

Two weekends ago, I decided to buy a stand mixer from my regular online shopping site. This is one kitchen appliance I don’t have because I’ve never had a use for it before so the thought of owning one never came about. But now, it’s a much needed appliance since hubby’s baking so much.

Since we cannot go to the stores to shop, online shopping was the way to go and the box arrived a week later. Never have I been so excited by a kitchen appliance before, what more a stand mixer! Little things in life now thrills.

It’s a timely purchase because with the MCO Phase 4 in place, our baking endeavors or should I say hubby’s is about to be more exciting. He can now try all those recipes that require intense mixing with the addition of a stand mixer now. Bring on those recipes!

Not the most high-end appliance but sufficient

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Quarantine, Day 8 (MCO D13)

30 Mar

It is Quarantine Day 8 (MCO Day 13) and this staying put is starting to get to me. The daily routine is the same, day in, day out.

I wake up, I eat. Then I prepare lunch. Then we eat. Taking a breather I carve. Then I snack. Throw in some house chores in between.

Then I prepare dinner. Then eat again, accompanied by a stiff drink or two or sometimes three. Then as I get ready for bed, I think about what to cook for the next day. This routine is then repeated the next day and the next and the next.

See the pattern? It’s always revolving around eating and food. No wonder the waistline is expanding!

I shouldn’t visit the kitchen so often or rather, shouldn’t sit all day at the island in the kitchen surrounded by food. Seriously, the MCO should be applied to the kitchen area to prevent all this food temptation. During the past two weeks, the living room has been replaced by the kitchen as the most used place in the whole house.

I need to vary the routine… and eat less.

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Borderless Love, Part 2

13 Mar

It was drizzling and gloomy when we got home. And I had dinner to prepare in the kitchen, so I got things going. Hubby went to the garden and our adopted pet, the Golden Retriever from next door heard him somehow.

The adorable fluff ball dashed out of his house for a quick love pet and exchange.

However the fleeting moment was interrupted. His mom called out to him and reprimanded him for the sudden escape into the drizzling condition. I guess she doesn’t know he’s sneaking out for love pets from us. Heheh… So the poor fella had no choice but to go back indoors. Awww…

But he got his happy love exchange, hubby did too and I didn’t. Shucks.

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This is Why I Don’t Bake

11 Feb

I have a Kenwood Rapid Bake machine sitting on my lower kitchen counter and all these years, it’s used more as an extension of the upper counter to put things than to bake. It was a house warming gift when we moved in ages ago rather than a purchase on my part. As I’m really hopeless when it comes to being adept in the kitchen, the appliance hardly saw any action all these years.

Somehow over the weekend–out of the blue–I decided to bake a cake! I don’t know why but there was an unexplainable urge. Not from scratch but to use the machine which I thought was a brilliant idea.

Apparently my bread maker can also bake a cake at setting number seven. So I did some homework to make sure this idea was feasible before I even began.

To make things easy, I bought the easiest box of cake mix that called for just eggs, milk and butter to add to the mix. I can do that, right? Yep.

So Sunday morning was the big bake day! Everything went into the bread maker’s pan and all I had to do was even out all the ingredients and let the machine mix ‘em up and bake. Easy…

But when I put the pan into the machine and switched on the main power before pressing the ON button, nothing happened! Oh no!!! Has the machine kaput? It’s been left unused for so long. Why didn’t I think of testing the machine first before embarking on this ambitious attempt?

As for the mixed ingredients, what a waste if I left it unbaked; so I transferred the mixture into another pan and baked the cake the conventional way. In the oven…

After 30 minutes, the cake was done and it actually turned out pretty good for my first attempt after so long. A little crusty on the edges but moist on the inside.

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The butter cake which turned out good!

Later as I was cleaning the counters, I was mulling over what I should do with my bread maker. Do I still leave it as an extension of the counter or get it fixed? Then when I was putting the cable away, I discovered another power button! Hey… I didn’t see that earlier!

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Somehow I missed this!

I plugged the machine in again, switched on the main power and flipped this newly discovered button and voila, my bread maker came alive! Hahahaha… what a major dork I was.

I simply did not realize there’s a power button hidden behind and thought the worst of my bread maker. Now you know why I don’t bake or fuss around in the kitchen that much. I hardly know my appliances!

But having said that, I think I’d want to bake another cake again just to try the Kenwood Rapid Bake in the cake mode setting number seven.

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Pesky Intruder, Part 2

1 May

The pesky intruder struck again yesterday morning! Darn it. Whilst hubby was accompanying official pet number one to the garden terrace, the pesky intruder quietly came in to the dry kitchen, jumped onto the island counter and nibbled away at the plastic bag of the new loaf of bread.

I discovered the evidence when I walked into the kitchen. There were little bits of plastic all over the counter and a gaping hole in the bag. It didn’t get to the actual bread but the damage was enough. And what riled us was not just the new loaf, the old loaf, placed near the toaster, was nibbled at too. Grr…

Obviously both loaves of bread had to be thrown away and the place was wiped down properly for we can’t chance any disease even though we didn’t come into direct contact with the squirrel.

This is the third time we’ve discovered the intrusion. The first was the banana; the second time, it was toast. Yep, you read that right. Pesky squirrel came right in to the toaster and helped itself to the toast that hubby made.

We have to be even more vigilant now than ever.

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